Rainbow Dash: Role Model
by Random Nutcase
Summary: Twilight asks Rainbow Dash to be a role model to Scootaloo... Run! Run as fast as you can! Save yourself!


Rainbow Dash: Role Model

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or setting

This fanfiction was made for fun, not profit

_My Little Pony_ is owned by Hasbro

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The sky was blue. Well, that went without saying, but today it was the bluest blue it has ever been or will ever be again. And the clouds were the purest white and the sun shined gold upon all who would greet this day. It was indeed the most coolest day ever.

A perfect day for flying.

Across the white clouds sped a streak of many colors. Red, orange, blue, yellow, purple; it was all of these as it zoomed between the mountainous cloud formations, dipping and diving in and out of the valley of white fluff.

The streak was fast, unbelievably fast. Faster than the eye and it didn't much care. It just had to be fast, for that was its greatest joy it could ever wish for.

As the streak came to the edge of a cloud bank it suddenly halted, revealing itself to whoever happened to be watching as a sky blue pegasus with a messy rainbow mane. The pegasus hung in the sky for a moment, gazing at the small community below with it's thatched roofs and lazy, easy going ways. So peaceful. So quiet.

So unassuming.

The pegasus let a smile creep onto her face before she streaked forward, twirling and looping down into the town.

It was great to be free.

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Twilight Sparkle was in the middle of a very important task. It was a job of far too much magnitude to trust to Spike, her baby dragon assistant, so she decided to take the responsibility on all by herself. It was a job that required organizational skills, a good eye for detail, and a strong sense of duty.

Yes, today she was to inspect her quills. All one hundred forty seven of them.

It was not a chore to take lightly. Twilight was one of only seven ponies in all of Equestria authorized in quill inspection. Of course, the other six ponies were just the same pony taking the authorization test under assumed aliases for laughs, but that was neither here nor there.

The purple unicorn prepared her well made and detailed list of quill necessities. She would be checking the length of each quill, the sharpness of the points, the quality of the feathers used and so on. After double checking, even triple checking the list, she was ready. Her horn began to glow a bright purple as she used her magic to lift the first quill, helpfully numbered .00001, to eye level.

Okay, she was ready to begin!

Suddenly she felt a burst of wind as a multicolored blur careened right though the open window of her library and… straight into the mattress that had been propped up at the other end of the room.

"Oh, Rainbow Dash," Twilight said happily, looking over her guest, "so nice that you dropped in!"

The blue pegasus looked confusedly from the mattress she was currently slumped on to the purple unicorn and back.

"Uh, hey Twilight," Rainbow Dash said slowly, "were you expecting me or something?" She rolled off the mattress and approached her friend, who had returned to her quill related duties.

"What, you mean the mattress?" Twilight said looking up from her list, "No, I just set that up after last Tuesday," she gave a shiver, "it took me hours to put all the books back and straighten my mane and put out all the fires and cure Spike of bubonic plague…"

"Yeah, whatever," Rainbow Dash said offhandedly, already getting bored by lack of talk involving her, "I just stopped by to see if you wanted to go over to Sweet Apple Acres to watch Applejack and me race. I'm gonna cream her this time…"

"Sorry, Rainbow. Busy," Twilight said as she marked off a few things on her list.

"What?" Rainbow Dash shouted, leaping up into the air, "Busy? Busy with what?"

"With the annual quill inspection," Twilight said, magically turning the feather to see it at a different angle, "it is a very important and time consuming -"

"Important? They're just a bunch of stinky old quills!"

Rainbow Dash's upside down face suddenly came down in front of Twilight causing the unicorn to step back and see the pegasus hovering above her.

"Unlike you, Rainbow," Twilight shot back, "I have responsibilities that keep me occupied. I can't just do all my chores in ten seconds flat and laze about all day!"

Rainbow Dash continued to float upside-down, her wings slowly flapping constantly. "Responsibilities? Bah! Responsibilities are overrated! You should be like me Twilight. No ties to the ground! I'm just 100% free!"

"More like 100% annoying," Twilight deadpanned as she put down .00001 and picked up .00002.

Rainbow Dash gave a snort and turned to the window. "Fine, then I'm outta' here."

"Wait, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight said quickly, levitating .00002 back onto the desk, "There was something I wanted to talk to you about!"

Rainbow Dash gave a huff as she floated back. "What? Do you want to criticize my mane now?"

"Actually," the unicorn began, "it's about Scootaloo."

"Huh? The squirt?" the pegasus landed as her face broke into a smile.

Twilight sighed as she regarded Rainbow Dash. Just recently, Applejack had been planning a camping trip to Winsome Falls with her little sister, who in turn had invited her friend, Scootaloo, with Rainbow Dash coming along as her chaperone. It was on this trip that Rainbow Dash promised to take the younger pegasus her under her wing, a decision Twilight did not think Rainbow Dash had completely thought through.

Rainbow Dash liked the little filly that worshiped the ground she flew over, but Twilight knew it wasn't because of fondness of Scootaloo herself. Rainbow Dash simply loved the idea that she had her own fan following her around and said that to Scootaloo to stork her already large ego. It wasn't because of adoration for Scootaloo, which made what Twilight was going to ask difficult.

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight began, "I heard what happened last week and I just thought I'd worn you, she can be a hand-full."

"How?" was the pegasus' question.

"Well, she got in a lot of trouble last week. She put itching powder in one of Rarity's new dresses. The week before, she put fake spiders in Sugercube Corner's pantry. And the week before that, she convinced Fluttershy that her bunny Angel was a vegetable sucking vampire."

Rainbow Dash gave a laugh.

"A vampire! That's a good one. Gotta try that on Pinky Pie," she paused when she noticed the angry glare from Twilight, "Oh, lighten up, Twilight. It's just harmless pranks."

Twilight shook her head.

"It's not just the pranks. She's been getting into fights at school with those rich girls…"

"Well, maybe they had it coming," Rainbow Dash shrugged.

Twilight did not let up.

"She's also been careening through crowded areas on her scooter, causing property damage in all sorts of hairbrained schemes, impersonating a washing machine…"

"Okay!" Rainbow Dash interrupted, "I get it. So what do I care? Shouldn't you be talking to her parents?"

Twilight gave a sigh. "Nobody I've spoken to knows them. Besides, Cheerilee, the school teacher, says she has sent Scootaloo home with over a dozen notes for her parents and they haven't seemed able to do anything. No, what we need is a role model."

"Role model?"

"You know! Someone who she looks up to;" she leaned forward, "who she will listen to; whose fan club she is the president of… Am I getting through to you?"

Rainbow Dash took a step back. "You want me to be a role model to a filly...?"

"You said you'd take her under you're wing. That means you're her role model."

Rainbow Dash starched her wings nervously.

"I don't know, Twilight. I mean, spending time with kids is fine, but I'm no role model."

"Oh, come on, Rainbow Dash! Try to be a little responsible for once!"

At that very moment, the birds outside stopped singing. Foals all around Ponyville began to cry. The beasts of the Everfree Forest became uneasy, growling, whining and running for cover. In the great city of Canterlot, the noble ruler Princess Celestia was disturbed from her royal duties when cold shiver ran down her back. Far, far from Equestria, out in the great sea, a giant rose from the water. It was humongous; as big as a mountain with large, muscular arms and an ugly, twisted face. It turned, looked toward the land of ponies and then the huge, monstrous creature ran screaming in the opposite direction.

Collectively the whole world shuttered, for the unthinkable had happened. Someone had asked Rainbow Dash to be responsible.

"Twilight!" Rainbow Dash gasped, "what you just said!"

"Look Rainbow," the unicorn pleaded, "I'm not asking much, just go and talk with her. And if you really think this is up to her parents, you can have her introduce them to you."

"Okay," the blue pegasus grumped, "I'll do it! Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get to Sweet Apple Acres before Applejack goes sour."

With that, Rainbow Dash opened her wings wide and disappeared through the window in a streak of Rainbow colors.

Twilight gave an unimpressed look as she returned to quill .00002.

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You could say a lot of things about Rainbow Dash: that she was a lay-about; that she could be inconsiderate of others; that she had an ego so huge that if it were tangible it could be christened a country; and other things that are not appropriate for a fanfiction based on a little girl's cartoon. But there was one thing you could never say about her: that she went back on her word.

And so, a few days later after practicing some super awesome tricks, she spotted Scootaloo while flying over a park and decided to get it over with, swooping down for a landing.

When she touched the ground, she saw Scootaloo in the middle of a strange activity. The little filly would jump up, flap her wings vigorously and stay in the air for a few seconds before falling to the ground. She would then catch her breath and try again.

Curious, Rainbow Dash stepped forward as Scootaloo gave another leap. "Hey, squirt! You trying to fly?"

Scootaloo hit the grass in shock, but soon she was on her hooves and had spun around to face her idle.

"Rainbow Dash!" she cheered, a big stupid smile on her face as she trotted over, "This is so awesome! What are you doing here?"

"Twilight wanted me to ask you something, but that's not important," She pushed herself into the air and began to float circles around the filly, "were you trying to fly just now?"

Scootaloo hopped up and down. "Yeah! Did you see me? I was up there for almost a whole minute!"

Rainbow Dash gave a smile. "Sure you were. But you're not going to learn to fly by just hovering, kido."

"I'm not?" Scootaloo said, her hopping stopped for the moment.

"No, why haven't you asked your parents to teach ya'?"

Scootaloo's eye went to the ground. "Um… they can't…"

"Well, that's okay," the blue pegasus said as she rotated in the air, "that's what flying camp is for, right?"

Scootaloo did not look up.

"Huh…? Oh, yeah, camp."

"You are gong to camp, aren't you?" Rainbow tilted her head.

"Oh, yes of course I'm going to camp," Scootaloo said as she gave a small laugh, "yeah, going to camp, doing camp things, going camp places. Yay, camp…" she said that last part in a small voice. For the sake of foreshowing she said nothing more.

Rainbow Dash stared at the orange filly for a moment as she turned right side up. Weren't Scootaloo's parents interested in her learning to fly? Why, flying was the best thing for a pegasus to do… except for Fluttershy. Every winged pony loved to fly at least a little every day… except Fluttershy. Why they loved it so much, most careers for pegasi involved flying and one would often jump at the chance to sore through the clouds for a living… except Fluttershy. Hmm, she was starting to think Fluttershy was a bit odd.

"Say, kid," Rainbow Dash finally said, "how about I give you some pointers?"

Scootaloo's head suddenly shot up, "Really?"

"Sure! In fact, I know a trick that always works."

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The Cliff of Madness, which towered over the Fields of Despair, adjacent to the River of Sadness, and could only be reached by the Dirt Path of Dirt, was noted as one of the tallest and most dangerous cliff faces in the Ponyville area. Why mothers kept bringing their baby carriages near the edge so they can roll off and be caught by a certain blue pegasus is a mystery to everyone.

Never the less, Scootaloo was currently atop said cliff that loomed over the brown, untended grass below. Far, far below.

"Are you sure about this?" the orange pegasus filly said, nervously glancing back at Rainbow Dash, "Not that I'm scared," she quickly added, "this is sure to be awesome … it's just that it's so high…"

"Hey, don't sweet it," said Rainbow Dash cheerily as she walked up behind Scootaloo, "mortal peril is simply the best motivator when it comes to flying. With that ground coming up too you, you'll be thinking of nothing but flying!"

"You really think so!" the worry disappeared from the filly's face, "Wow! When do we get started?"

"How about right now?" With that, Rainbow Dash turned around, lifted her hind legs and bucked Scootaloo off the cliff. She then looked over the edge to gauge the younger pegasus' progress,

"Okay, Scootaloo!" she shouted down, "Remember to spread your wings, get a good updraft, and start flapping," a pause, "not your arms, your wings," another pause, "Okay, now stop covering your eyes with your hooves, your won't be able to see," another pause, "And stop screaming. You need to…"

She was interrupted when a loud "phht" sounded from the bottom of the cliff. Rainbow Dash sat there, her head still hanging over its edge, looking uncomfortable.

"Um… we may need to try a few more times till we get it right."

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Twilight studied the object carefully. She weighed it, smelled it, tasted it, and looked it all over. Every piece of equipment used in her studies had to be perfect, so she made sure to scrutinize every inch of her target.

Finally, she gave a satisfactory sigh and made a mark on her check list. Scroll number .00523 had passed inspection.

She used her magic to re-roll the strip of parchment and place it back on the shelf. It was very important that all paper written on was within regulation. If not, the ink could smear, the parchment could rip, or the whole scroll could spontaneously combust! Then what would the princess think?

As Twilight began to put every thing away, there came a knock at the library door. The unicorn barely had time to turnaround before the door swung open and in trotted a pale blue pegasus with a very hurt orange pegasus filly on her back.

"Hey, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash greeted, "You got a first-aid kit?"

"Oh my, Scootaloo!" Twilight exclaimed as she rushed forward, "What happened? And…" she gave the filly a look over, "why is she covered in tree sap?"

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "I don't know. There weren't any trees around the cliff that I pushed her off."

"Oh?" Twilight said thoughtfully, "Well, it can't be helped then. Wait here while I some bandages."

As Twilight trotted her way to her bathroom, she couldn't help but think of how nice it was that Rainbow Dash had actually done as she asked and was spending some time Scootaloo. Why, already the older pony was playing with her, helping her when she is hurt, pushing her off cliffs, carrying her places…

Wait.

Pushing her off cliffs?

Pushing her off cliffs…

"Pushing her off cliff!" Twilight practically screamed as she returned to the main room, bandages floating by her side and her eyes seething with anger, "Rainbow Dash, why did you push her off a cliff?"

Rainbow Dash gave the unicorn a look of confusion. "To teach her how to fly."

"Teach her how to…" Twilight began but was too incensed to continue. Instead she pulled the filly off Rainbow Dash's back with her magic, placed her on the nearby table and started to tend her wounds. Luckily, she didn't look too bad for being tossed from a cliff, just some nicks and bruises. Scootaloo herself didn't seem too shook up from the whole thing, grinning like the maniac she probably was.

"Are you alright, Scootaloo?" Twilight asked as she applied a bandage.

"Oh, yeah! I had a blast!" the orange pegasus said cheerfully, "Sure, it hurt, but out it was fun, like I was really flying!"

The unicorn gave a sigh. Of course Scootaloo would find falling off a cliff fun. Especially if Rainbow dash told her to do it. She could only shack her head as she finished up the bandages and cleaned off the tree sap. "Okay, Scootaloo, all finished."

"Gee, thanks Twilight!" Scootaloo said, jumping down from the table, "But I really need to… uh… get home. Thanks for the lessons, Rainbow Dash!"

"Wait, Scootaloo." Twilight called out to the retreating filly, "Maybe one of us should walk you ho-"

She was interrupted by a slamming door. The orange filly was gone.

With Scootaloo gone, Twilight reared her head to the blue pegasus.

"Rainbow Dash," she said with the fury of a thousand moons.

"What?"

"When I asked you to spend some time with Scootaloo, injuring her is not what I had in mind."

"Hey," Rainbow Dash said hotly, "she said her parents weren't teaching her to fly, so I…"

"Wait, her parents aren't teaching her how to fly?" the purple mare asked, her anger turning to confusion.

"Yeah and apparently they're not sending her to flight camp ether," Rainbow Dash informed.

"But why…?"

"I don't know. Do I look like the type of pony who puts their muzzle in other's family business. So I decided that if they weren't going to help their own daughter, I might as well get her going."

"Yes, but you can't just drop her down… Okay, you know what? Wait here." With that, Twilight trotted over to the book shelves and began to shift through tome after tome until she found the book she was looking for and floated it over to Rainbow Dash.

"The Beginner's Handbook for Young Flyers," Twilight stated, "just follow this book and you should get her off the ground in no time and with far less injures."

Rainbow stared at the book for a moment, obviously not fond of the idea of going to a book for advice on flying, but one look to a pleading Twilight made her give out a defeated sigh. "Fine! Geeze, who knew keeping a filly out of trouble was so complicated."

She grabbed the book with her teeth and shoot out the window in a blaze of color.

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Contrary to popular belief, Rainbow Dash was not stupid. She could be rash and often rushed into things without thinking, which usually resulted in her making stupid decisions. But, if given enough time to think, or gravely mull over as the case maybe, she will often came up with the right choice. So, though it took a few days, she eventually realized that Twilight may have been on to something and kicking a filly from a great height probably was not the best way to teach flying. With this thought in mind, she (begrudgingly) gave a quick read-through of the book Twilight gave her. With that done, she set off one sunny day to see if she could find the filly.

As no one she knew could tell her where Scootaloo lived, the sky blue pegasus resigned himself to flying about searching for her.

Finally, she spotted the orange pegasus behind Sugercube Corner and swooped down for a landing. As she descended, however, she realized something was off. Scootaloo had turned over one of the bakery's trash cans and was currently shifting through the pile of garbage that had been dumped from it.

"Hey, squirt," Rainbow Dash called out, causing Scootaloo to jump in fright.

"Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo faced her hero with the look of someone that had been caught in some unspeakable act. "I-it's not what it look like… well okay, it is what it looks like, but it's not exactly what it looks like, in fact it's only marginally what it looks like…"

"Don't give me that, kid. I know what's going on," Rainbow Dash informed grimly.

"Y-you do?" the filly said fearfully.

"Yeah, and I can tell you right now it won't work."

"I can explain ev-" Scootaloo cut off when her brain registered Rainbow's words, "huh?"

"You won't find any thing to blackmail Gummy in there. Nothing but half eaten pastries," Rainbow Dash said, narrowing her eyes, "but that alligator can't hide his secrets forever!" With that, her face brightened, "Anyway, how would you like some more flight lessons."

The filly's expression went from confused to excited. "Another one. This is so awesome! Are you going to throw me off another cliff?" she said eagerly.

Rainbow Dash became rather nervous. "Oh… uh, well… I-I figure that since we didn't get anywhere last time, today we'd try something different; something super awesome!" She gave a big, strained smile.

"Super awesome!" Scootaloo practically screamed, "This is so cool!"

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"This is lame."

This sentence came from the orange pegasus who was currently strapped to a harness hanging from a tree, her wings stretched out and a giant fan behind her blowing wind against her flank and, indeed, looking quite lame.

"It's okay, Scootaloo," said Rainbow Dash who was off to the side poring through the flight book, "it says here that this is suppose to get ya' used to 'the vibrations of the air currents' and to get you to 'understand the mechanics of the proper wing position, thus insuring impeccable flight.'"

Scootaloo whipped her head around. "What dose that mean?"

"I have no clue…" admitted Rainbow Dash. Frankly it didn't sound like this pony knew what they were talking about.

With a grunt, Scootaloo began to swing back and forth in the harness, knocking over the fan.

"Scootaloo, stop that!" Rainbow Dash said rushing over, "you're supposed to be reverting current to… uh… Scootaloo, stop that!"

Using her wings as momentum, Scootaloo started to sway faster. "But I'm board," whined the filly, "why can't I just fall off another cliff?"

"Because if you do, Twilight Sparkle will kick me off a cliff with my wings tied." Rainbow Dash retorted, coming closer to the moving orange blur, trying to find the right moment to grab the rope.

Scootaloo was swinging in large circles now, her wings pumping wildly. Rainbow Dash took a hesitant step back. "Scootaloo, that's enough. Stop!"

"No!" Scootaloo called back, and, as if to cement the issue, got only faster.

The blue pegasus was getting annoyed. She asked nicely and this little filly answered her with a rued remark?

Who does she think she is, Rainbow Dash thought, me?

With new conviction, Rainbow Dash crouched down waiting for her chance. Her fast eyes watched the filly as she swayed around and around, eyes shut in defiance.

After studying her pray for a moment, Rainbow Dash leaped forward and grabbed a hold of the harness with her teeth. She felt a sudden jerk and watched, stunned, as Scootaloo slipped from the straps, shooting out like a bullet.

Acting quickly, Rainbow Dash flew forward, staying low to the ground. She moved underneath the speeding filly, then she twirled around so that she was now flying on her back, and spread her forelegs wide so she could cache the falling Scootaloo.

But Scootaloo wasn't falling; it took a moment for Rainbow Dash to realize this, and moved above the younger pegasus to see why, though she knew exactly what was happening. Sure enough, Scootaloo's wings were still flapping, keeping her in the air. Rainbow Dash was frankly stunned; she wasn't sure how the little filly was keeping her cool during her very first flight. Most fist time fliers panic and crash. Then Rainbow Dash noticed that Scootaloo still had her eyes shut.

"Hay, squirt," Rainbow said with a giggle, "open your eyes."

"No!" the filly huffed.

Rainbow Dash gave another giggle, "Come on, just a peek."

"No!"

The older pegasus couldn't contain her laughter any more. "Scootaloo, I think you'd better look."

That seemed to reach her. Scootaloo slowly opened one eye and then the other. She looked before her at the rolling park hills. She looked up at the absence of branches and the abundance of blue sky. She then looked down at the lush green grass rushing past. She then looked straight, her eyes widening as her mind put the pieces together to make the wondrous conclusion.

Then she panicked, her wings buckling to her side causing her to suddenly plummet.

Fortunately, Rainbow Dash had always been fast just as she had always been loyal. In the flap of a wing, she had caught Scootaloo around her shoulder and lowered her to the ground.

The filly lay there for several minuets, breathing heavily. Finally, she looked up at the blue pegasus with a thin smile. "I was flying," she said weakly.

Rainbow Dash returned the smile. "You sure were, kid. I don't think I've seen anyone stay up for so long on there first try… uh, except for me, of course,"

Scootaloo stood, her smile widening. "Really? Wow!"

"Yup," Rainbow Dash said, "in fact, why don't we celebrate? Sugercube Corner, my treat."

This announcement resulted in Scootaloo hopping up and down in anticipation. "Sugercube Corner? This is so awesome!"

Rainbow Dash's smile turned into a smirk. This role model stuff was easy. "And on the walk there I can tell you about the time I pulled off an super cool airborne somersault-corkscrew …"

"Walking?" Scootaloo interrupted, apparently shocked by the mere mention of the word, "Walking's boring!" Before Rainbow Dash could say anything, Scootaloo had ran off and returned with a small, blue scooter and matching blue helmet. "Hey, Rainbow Dash! I'll race ya'!"

What! A filly challenging her to a race. Another smirk speed across Rainbow Dash's face. Ha! She could fly circles… no, squares around the two wheeled toy. Why, even at this time of day with the streets of Ponyville crowded she could still…

Rainbow Dash paused. Scootaloo racing that thing through town. Isn't that one of the things Twilight asked her to stop?

Rainbow Dash gave a reluctant sigh. She had to admit, a race through the crowed streets sounded pretty cool, but she was first and foremost loyal to her friends. She promised to be a good role model and she would, even if she had to be… uge, responsible.

"Sorry, squirt, but I don't think a race would be the best…"

"That's okay," Scootaloo interrupted and she grabbed a long rope that was attached to the back of her scooter, "here, catch!"

She tossed the rope to Rainbow Dash, who caught it in her teeth without thinking. Then Scootaloo hopped on her scooter and began to flap her wings wildly, propelling the scooter forward. Before the blue pegasus' mind could connect the dots, she felt a tug on the rope.

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It was a calm, clear day in Ponyville and calm, clear days in Ponyville usually meant one thing: market day.

And market day meant the town square was lined with vender carts selling various foods and wares to the eager ponies who crowded the area. The sound of a hundred voices filled the air; a familiar din that only brought comfort. It was the sound of cooperation; it was the sound of many different ponies coming to gather to converse and trade; it was the sound of fun and jolliness; and most of all, it was the sound of peace.

That peace was suddenly shattered by a high pinched buzzing.

Everypony in the market place knew that noise and whipped their heads about in anticipation. Venders began to close their carts and customers started to walk more quickly. Yes, they knew that sound. It signified pain. It signified disaster. It signified bruised kneecaps.

And around the corner come the span of their worst nightmares: a small, orange blur. It would always come around this time of day, zigzagging through pony's legs and leaping over carts. It would last only a few moments, but they were usually the most tense moments any of them had ever had in their normally peaceful lives. The best they could hope for was to keep out of its way and ignore it until it's gone.

Little did these poor, poor ponies realize that today something was different.

As the orange blur speed into the square, some began to notice a much lager blue blur bouncing right behind the smaller orange one, apparently attached together by rope. As the small blur made a sharp turn, the bigger blur whipped to the side, smashing into a cart before following the smaller blur. The small blur shot through the legs of several stallions, maneuvering carefully but quickly as they want unaware; the larger blur was not so graceful (or tiny) and the stallions went flying when it simply plowed through them.

Finally, the orange blur sped out of the square, the blue blur behind. The scene they left was one of devastation; one of smashed carts and ponies with their faces planted on the hard stone pavement, left with only one thing to wonder, "Why?"

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Scootaloo came to a stop in front of Sugercube Corner, a simply humongous grin on her face. "We're here, we're here, Rainbow Dash!" she said as she turned to face her idol, only to see said idol laying on the ground behind her, scratched and bruised and over all not looking to great.

"We're here?" Rainbow said weakly, lifting her head to see the Hansel-and-Gretel-inspired candy bakery, "Oh, thank Celestia, we're here!" she slowly got to her hooves and limped her way over to the door.

Scootaloo followed close behind, watching her a little worriedly."Hey, Rainbow Dash? Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash said as she looked back dazedly, "Of course I am. I'm… just excited, yeah! I always limp when I'm excited." She entered the building and lurched in an unexcited faction over to the counter, the little filly by her side.

On the other side of the counter stood a rather hyper looking pink pony, her pink mane poophing out like cotton candy. When she saw Rainbow Dash coming up to her, she gave a manic grin and began to speak in a fast, high pinched voice, "Hey-ya, Rainbow Dash. Why are you limping? I don't see any reason for you to be limping. Are you excited? I always limp when I'm excited. I don't know why. I think because it's fun! So what are you excited about, Rainbow Dash? What are you excited about?"

"Pinky Pie!" Rainbow Dash interrupted and the pink pony suddenly was silenced, "Thank you. I will have a slice of blueberry pie and, um…" she looked down at the filly, "Scootaloo…?"

"I want a super huge ice-cream sundae!" Scootaloo sang happily.

"Sundae?" Rainbow Dash blinked, "isn't that a lot of food, Squirt? Are you sure you can…?"

"Sundae! Sundae!" the filly sang, clomping her hooves against the tiled floor, "Sundae! Sundae! Sunda-"

"Okay, okay," Rainbow Dash said hurriedly, not wanting to make a scene that had nothing to do with her being awesome. She turned back to Pinky Pie, "one slice of blueberry pie and a super huge ice-cream sundae, please."

Pinky's smile starched across her face as she worked the cash resister. "Okey-dokey-lokey! That'll be eight bits."

"Eight bits!" Rainbow Dash cried, "But…"

"Three bits for the pie, five bits for the Sundae!" Pinky Pie explained with the most cheerful voice anyone has ever used to explain pricing for desserts.

Rainbow Dash gave a small growl but did not protest as she dropped the coins onto the counter. She then looked back down at the filly, "Say, kid. While I wait for the food, why don't you go find us a table?"

"Yeah!" Scootaloo cheered and she happily trotted off.

With the filly preoccupied, Rainbow Dash gave a long sigh. "Geeze, five bits for a Sundae," she said to Pinky Pie, "who knew a filly could be so expensive."

"Oh yeah, tell me about it!"said Pinky Pie excitedly, "Mr. and Mrs. Cake's new born twins cost them like a billondy gazillion bits to take care of a day."

"Really?" the blue pegasus said raising an eyebrow, "Well good thing I'm just treating her, then."

Pinky Pie hopped up and down in a far too happy manner. "Yes, that is very nice of you, Rainbow Dash, especially when I see her digging through our garbage every day."

Rainbow Dash blushed in mock modesty. "Yeah, well, I am quite generous when… wait, she digs through your trash everyday?" she broke off.

"Yep," Pinky chimed, "always in those cans, looking for food."

"Food?"

"Yeah. Sometimes I feel sorry for her and give her a cupcake or something. Gezze, you'd think her parents would keep her better fed than that."

"Yeah, you'd think," Rainbow Dash said softly, her eyes narrowing as she glanced to a nearby table, the little filly sitting there eagerly awaiting her Sundae.

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The very tip of the sun was touching the horizon as one very satisfied looking filly and one sore looking pegasus exited Sugercube Corner.

"Seriously, Scootaloo," Rainbow Dash was saying, "did you really have to order another Sundae? Wasn't two enough?"

"Nope," the offending little orange pony answered smugly, "well, thanks again for the lessons, Rainbow Dash, but I'd better get going now."

"Wait, squirt!" Rainbow Dash stepped forward, "why don't I walk you home. It's getting dark and your parents wouldn't want you to be out this late."

"My… parents?" Scootaloo sounded unsure as she gazed back at Rainbow Dash for a long moment. Finally, her eyes narrowed as if she had made a decision. "Right, my parents. Sure, follow me."

They walked along the streets of Ponyville, now mostly empty in anticipation of the oncoming night with only a few wandering the streets. As they passed each of the thatch-roofed buildings, Rainbow Dash wondered which one of these beautiful homes, half orange in the slanted sunlight, was the place were Scootaloo lived.

Soon they reached town square… and passed through it into the main residential district… and passed through that and reached the outskirts of town were a few small cottages dotted the area… and passed through that.

Now they were at the very edge of town, right before the border of Everefree Forest. No one lived out here except Fluttershy and unless that timid pegasus had been hiding something, a thing that was simply impossible to hide, then Rainbow Dash couldn't see how the filly could call this place home.

They continued along the forest edge, moving father away from civilization. The shadows of the forest grew longer and longer as Celestia's golden orb set further and further. Rainbow would never admit it, but she did not like being so close to Everfree Forest as it was getting dark. Who knew what beady eyes were watching them at this very moment.

After a few more seconds of walking, Rainbow Dash spotted a shape in the fading light. It sat upon a small hill, wasn't very big and was a square shape. As they got closer and Rainbow Dash's eyes become accustom to the dimness of light, she was able to see the object for what it was: a cardboard box.

"Well," Scootaloo said proudly, "here we are!"

Rainbow Dash looked right and saw nothing but empty fields. She looked left and saw nothing but the darkening forest. She then turned her attention to the box, lifting it up to check underneath it.

"Where are we?" she asked the filly.

"My home!" Scootaloo announced brightly. Rainbow Dash gave the box a long, expressionless stair, then turned back to Scootaloo, pointing a hoof at the offending cardboard.

"There?"

"Yup!" Scootaloo said, nodding enthusiastically.

"In the box?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yup!"

"But where are your parents?"

"Ah, I don't need any parents," the filly said as she skipped over to the box, "they would only hold me back. Besides, I have everything I need," she opened one of the flaps of the box as if it were a door, revealing the crammed space inside, dominated by a small pile of hay, "see, a nice, comfy bed," she said as she gave it a pat, "plus, if I feel hungry," she leaned forward and snatched a few straws in her mouth, "I can have a late night snack!"

Rainbow Dash, her face still blank, moved in and gave the hay pile a quick sniff. She winced and backed away.

"And not only that," Scootaloo continued, "but I can stay up as long as I like, eat anything I like and do whatever I want. No one watching me or nagging me or telling me to do this or that or to-"

"You still go to school," Rainbow Dash pointed out.

"Oh, well this truant officer pony kept fallowing me around, telling me that I had to go to school and asking to see my parents. I was scared that she might find out that I don't…" she trailed off, looking down at the ground then snapped her head up, determination in her eyes, "I don't need them. I'm doing fine on my own. I only got attacked by timber-wolves twice. I can handle myself!"

"No, no, no!" Rainbow Dash finally showed an expression, a very confused one. "This isn't right, Scootaloo."

"What!" the little filly said in a small voice.

"You can't go on like this!" Rainbow Dash said stomping her hoof, "you need your mom and dad. I know that they can be a pain sometimes, but they mean well."

"But, you don't have any one tying you down. You're free…"

"Because I'm old enough to be," Rainbow Dash said, losing her patience, "I-I can't let this go on. Where do you live? I'm talking you home."

"What, no! You can't! I don't…" the filly stopped short, backing away, "I-I don't need to go back! I'm fine on my own," her eyes began to tear up, "I thought you'd understand!"

Rainbow Dash moved closer, a sad look on her face. "Come on, squirt, you can't stay out here. If you won't tell me then I'll talk to Twilight and…"

"No!" Scootaloo screamed bucking Rainbow Dash in the snout. The blue pegasus leaped into the air in shock as the little filly continued to shout, "I used to think you were cool, but now I see you're just like every one else. You're… uncool…ish…"

"Uncoolish!" Rainbow screamed, rearing up, "How dare you! No one calls Rainbow Dash uncoolish. I am sooooo coolish. Fine!" She spun around and flew towards town, "Stay out here if you want!"

She zoomed down the empty streets, breathing heavily in anger. She didn't pay attention to any of the buildings or landmarks. She didn't care where she went, she just wanted away from that brat and her box. She was so caught up in this that she didn't see the ratter large tree branch.

"What was that!" came a voice. Rainbow Dash looked down from the limb she was awkwardly hanging from to see a balcony sticking out of the tree. She had crashed into the library.

A purple unicorn ran out onto the balcony and burst into laughter when she spied Rainbow Dash dangling upside down, clutching to the branch with her fore legs.

"Hey, Rainbow!" Twilight Sparkle greeted with a giggle, "At lest you didn't fly through my window this time," she gave another laugh before the blue mare landed before her with an angry huff, not looking too happy, "uh… are you okay Rainbow Dash-"

"I'm fine," Rainbow Dash interrupted, "you're stupid tree just jumped in my way."

"Oh," Twilight said, looking her friend up and down, "you don't look hurt. Do you want to come inside for a wh-'

"No…" the pegasus said softly, "I just want to go home." She then lifted herself off the wooden balcony floor and hovered in the air as she gained her barings.

"Wait, Rainbow Dash," Twilight said, stepping forward, "I just wanted to ask how things were going with Scootaloo. Pinky said she saw you two at Sugercube Corner today."

Rainbow Dash huge in the air, her shoulders slumped. "Fine," she growled.

"So you think she will stop casing trouble?"

The blue mare said not a word.

"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight inquired again.

"I don't want to do this any more…" came the answer.

Twilight tilted her head. "Rainbow Dash, what…?"

"I am not a role model, okay!" Rainbow Dash snapped, spinning around to face Twilight with angry eyes, "I was never a role model. That is not what this mark on my flank means," she gestured to the rainbow lighting bolt mark with her head, "so just leave me alone!" with that she shot off into the fading dusk light, Twilight calling after her.

She did not listen. She did not care for the busy-buddy egghead Twilight or that little brat. If Scootaloo thought she could live in a box just fine, then let her. It wasn't like it was scheduled to rain that night or anything.

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Rainbow Dash spent the first half of the evening slamming her head against her window. There were two reasons for this. First, it was the hardest surface in her cloud-made home; second, it looked out upon the raging storm that Rainbow Dash had conveniently forgotten had been scheduled for that night, so that when her head started to hurt, all she had to do was just look at the raindrops splattering onto the other side of the glass and she would vehemently start again, ignoring the pain.

After a while, the blue pegasus finally had enough with giving her self a concussion and slowly slumped over to her bed.

A bolt of lighting lit up the usually opulent bed chamber, but the winged mare did not react. Instead, her eyes moved over the large room until they stopped on a small bed in the corner, on top of which sat a green tortoise shell. After a very slow moment, a small head pocked out of the shell, a head equipped with two tiny eyes that gazed back at Rainbow Dash through the darkness.

"What're you looking at, Tank," the pegasus asked angrily.

The tortoise said nothing but instead blinked slowly.

Rainbow dash regarded her pet. "Look," she said defensively, "it's not my fault she ran away from her parents, so she's not my responsibility, okay?"

The tortoise still said nothing and blinked slowly.

"Hey, don't give me that," she barked, "she's got a home, sort-of. That box may have been made of cardboard, but it was sturdy cardboard."

The tortoise said nothing and blinked slowly.

"And besides, she doesn't want any help. She thinks I'm uncool now. Well fine! I don't care what happens to her, then!"

The tortoise said nothing and blinked slowly.

"Stop doing that!"

The tortoise said nothing and blinked slowly.

With a snort, Rainbow Dash finally turned away from Tank but found herself staring out the window into the flashing lights and cascading droplets of the storm. Unable to watch the storm without being reminded of the filly, she buried her head into her cloudy pillow, but the stormy sounds still came through loud and clear. Every thunder clap; every splatter of rain; every howl of wind chipped away at her conscience until she couldn't take it any more.

With a mighty roar, the mare leaped up from her bed and crashed out the room, a bright rainbow trailing behind her.

The tortoise said nothing and blinked slowly.

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Scootaloo shivered violently as she looked defectively at the pile of mush that just a few hours ago had been her home. The thin cardboard had not held up long against the harsh winds and pounding rain, collapsing right on top of the scared little filly.

Giving another shiver, Scootaloo craned her head about looking for some sort of shelter. All she could see, however, was darkness. Cold darkness. Wet darkness. Cold, wet darkness loud with the deafening sound of falling raindrops.

Scootaloo gave a small hiccup but surpassed any tears. No, she would not cry. She was on her own and as such she had to be strong, just like Rainbo- someone who wasn't mean and lame.

But what would she do now? The small filly turned around and faced the direction of Fluttershy's cottage. The yellow pegasus mare would have been happy to let her stay the night. She would also probably tell Rainbow Dash what happened, and she would be back in no time to take her away. No, she couldn't go there, but were else?

At that moment, a thunder clap and a lightning flash lit up the aria around her just for a brief second, making the line of trees nearby visible. It also made her leap up in fright, forcing her to choke back another sob. She had to go somewhere. She couldn't stay out here.

Her head then turned to were she had glimpsed the forest boundary in the lighting flash. Everfree Forest had a very thick canopy that kept the sunlight from shining through. Did that also work for rain?

Scootaloo tentatively moved forward, stepping slowly toward the dark shapes that rose up before her. Soon she was amongst them; the large dark pillars ragged with tree bark.

The filly stood there in the across the boundary of trees but grimaced when she realized she was still getting wet. Where did a pony have to go to find some shelter! She would have to go deeper into the forest.

The tunnel of trees that led the way deeper into the darkness looked very, very unpleasant, however. Each tree was gnarled and twisted in ways that made them seem like nightmarish creatures reaching out for any pony that came close enough. And they just might too. It was well known that many ferocious monsters lived in Everfree Forest, each one of them bloodthirsty and cruel.

Scootaloo gulped. But she wasn't scared. No, she was… she was just cold, yeah! She was getting cold shivers all over, especially down her spine. Beside, she wouldn't go too far in, just far enough to get out of the rain.

She began to trot, nervously glancing about her. Each tree she past she would watch intently, ready to act if the thing suddenly moved out to seize her. But each tree stayed still as trees tended to do.

Once a few moments had past and no horrible death had befallen her, Scootaloo began to get bolder. Her trot increased to a canter and she began to hum a merry tune as her mood rose. This wasn't so bad, she thought, it was actually pretty nice if you got over the whole "forest of evil" thing. Why, she didn't even know why she was afraid; all of the monsters must be seeking shelter from the storm, too. There properly was nothing dangerous this close to the forest edge anyw-

Her thoughts were interrupted when she realized she was slowing down. Taking note of the ground, she found that she was hoof high in what looked like a mud puddle. Undaunted, the filly marched on through the muck. As she pressed forward, she felt that the mud was getting deeper and as a consequences, harder and harder to walk through. With the stuff up to her knees now, she could feel that it was rougher than mud, almost like… sand.

Scootaloo's eyes grow wide. The mud wasn't getting deeper, she was sinking. And this wasn't mud, it was quicksand!

Panicked, Scootaloo ran for the nearest tree, or at lest she tried to. Her legs were already fully submerged, and the more she moved them, the deeper into the sand she went. How was she supposed to get out of this without her legs? It wasn't like she could fly or something…

Oh, duh.

Flapping as hard as she could Scootaloo carefully lifted her self out of the sand… which was pointless as now she was hovering aimlessly a few feet over the quicksand. The little pegasus began kicking her limbs about, trying to fly forward. After a few moments of this, however, she hadn't moved an inch. Scootaloo stopped her flailing and looked about for a tree branch, but gave an angry murmur when she realized that they were too high.

By this point, her wings were starting to tire. If she was to get out of this she had to fly forward. But she hadn't learned that yet!

Scootaloo took a deep breath, and tried to remember what Rainbow Dash had taught her. All she got was a headache. Boy, was the bottom of that cliff hard.

Her wings were now starting to burn. Scootaloo was on the fringe of another panic attack. How was she supposed to move forward? She was never actually taught that! All she did was fall off a cliff and get wind blown at her thanks to that book. It was kind of stupid really, being blasted with a fan while strapped to a harness so you can feel what it is like to fly. Ridicules. Though, feeling the wind against her fur was nice. Especially around her wings. They felt so light with the wind on them, like she could just glide away on them. Just glide away.

Scootaloo opened her eyes she had not realized she had shut to find to her surprise that she was gliding. It was an unsteady glide, but it was satisfactory to send her to the other side. Her landing wasn't particularly good, causing her to tumble over the uneven ground. Never the less, she gave a joyous giggle as she rolled to a stop.

Springing up with renewed vigor, she marched forth, ready to face what ever this forest had to throw at her.

Suddenly, she felt something tug her right back leg. Believing it had snagged on a vine, Scootaloo lifted her leg and brought it down again. With that out of the way she once again began to walk.

And again, she felt a tug, this time stronger. Scootaloo pouted angrily and gave her right leg a shaking. Having hopefully gotten rid of whatever she had got caught on, she straightened up and once again (again) took a step.

It happened again. This time instead of a tug, it was a hard yank, dragging her a few feet back across the ground. The startled filly lifted her head from the dirt and whipped it over to look at her back hoof. Clutching it was a hand. Its fingers were very thin and pointed at the ends, and its texture was rough, like sandpaper. Scootaloo's eye's endeavored to trace the arm of which this hand was attached and fond that it looked less like a limb and more like a spindly cord that ran over the dark grass and twigs into the sand pit that she had just emerged.

Scootaloo gave a shocked scream and leaped forward, only to be yanked back in midair, landing in the pit with a plunk. The scared little filly began to thrash about, flapping her wings panicky, it took a few seconds, but she again started to slowly rise from the sand.

Her flight was short lived as several hands, all with thin and pointy fingers like the one that pulled her back, burst from the sand in small spurts and grabbed on to her in several places: two hands caught both her hind legs; another snatched her tail; one large hand grabbed both her front legs at once; and two hands came from both sides and grabbed both her wings, causing the terrified filly to fall into the muddy sand with a short scream.

Scootaloo tried to struggle, but the hands still had a hold on her and were slowly pulling her further into the sand.

For you see, dear readers, Scootaloo had not stumbled upon quicksand like she had first thought, but grabsand, which is like quicksand but far more dangerous.

Indeed, when compared with quicksand, grabesand was 30% more deadly, 40% less noticeable, 62% more grabby, 89% more sinister, 32% more likely to explode with contact with raisin bread, and ironically 20% cooler.

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"Scootaloo!"

Rainbow Dash trampled the crumpled cardboard in anger before she scanned the dark landscape for any sing of the orange filly. The wind rustled her main and the rain soaked her fur, but Rainbow Dash did not feel any of the overwhelming cold that she should have been feeling. The only thing she thought of was Scootaloo.

"Scootaloo!" she called out again. No reply and the pegasus began to breath heavily. She took off into the sky and started to crisscrossing the aria, calling Scootaloo's name.

"Scootaloo! Scootaloo!"

She did this for several minutes with no results until finally the wind and rain became too much for her and she begrudgingly landed, not taking notice of how close she was to Everfree Forest.

"Where did that little brat go!" she angrily berated nopony in particular, "she can't go wandering about in a thunder storm. What is she thinking? Why did I leave her alone? Why, why, why, why, why, why?"

She finished her tirade with a shake of her head. This was no time to blame herself. She had to find Scootaloo and the only way she was going to do that was to… was to… what was that thing that Twilight Sparkle said she had to do more of? Oh yeah, think. That's right, she had to think.

Scootaloo was young and naive (and a pain) but she wasn't stupid. She wouldn't just wonder off, she would try to find some place to stay, and Fluttershy's cottage was the closest and if she wasn't there, then she would be at ether Sweetie Bell's house or Sweet Apple Acres. Hey, this thinking thing works!

With new conviction, Rainbow Dash searched the horizon until she found what she was looking for: the tiny lights that represented Fluttershy's abode. With a cocky smile, the pegasus shook her fur and mane free of the heavy water that would slow her down, took note of the stormy winds, and squatted down, ready for takeoff.

Then her ear twitched. Rainbow got up from her squat. "What was that ?" she murmured to herself, "thought I heard something."

It had been a small voice, barely audible over the din of the storm. She couldn't hear what it was saying, but it definitely sounded familiar, a lot like a certain pegasus filly she was looking for…

Rainbow Dash shook her head violently. No, a life was in the balance and she could not spend time chasing after some imaginary voices. She squatted again, ready to leap into the storm strung sky.

"Help!"

She definitely heard it that time. Her head swan back and forth, trying to spot the little filly. Yes, she definitely heard that and it was definitely Scootaloo. And it was a cry for help. Cries for help are never good.

"Scootaloo!" she bellowed, "Scootaloo, where are you?"

"Help me, Rainbow Dash!" came the faint voice. The blue mare twitched her ears again as she tried to determine the direction and did not like what she realized.

Those far-off cries of a little filly were coming from the group of trees right beside her: the Everfree Forest.

Without a second thought, the pegasus was literally flying through the tree-lined tunnel. It was foolish, maybe even stupid, to fly so fast in a heavily wooded aria in the dark where any tree could go unnoticed until it was too late, but Rainbow Dash wasn't going to let something like common sense distract her now.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before she saw the bright orange coat in the distance. Thank Celestia for the inexplicably bright pony colors.

"Scootaloo!" she called out, doubling her speed.

"Rainbow Dash!" came the far-off voice as the tiny finger got closer.

Finally, she was hovering over the frightened little filly who, to Rainbow's surprise, was struggling with her legs submerged in what looked like mud. In fact, it looked like she was caked in mud, her wings at lest each had a large clump clinging to them. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but giggle at the site.

"Hay, Scootaloo," she said through a half snicker, "need me to save you from the bad old mud puddle?" with that she burst into laughter, hind legs kicking about.

If Scootaloo was angry at being teased, she did not show it, "Rainbow Dash, you've got to get me out of here! This stuff won't let me go!" she struggled a bit more to drive the point home.

"Okay, okay," The older pony said, stifling another giggle "hold on, here I come!" she readied herself to swoop down and pluck the filly out of that mud.

"Wait, Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo call out in horror, "Don't!"

It was too late. Rainbow Dash was already diving toward the Scootaloo when suddenly something burst out of the muddy pit and the blue pony swerved just in time as a thin, sandy hand sailed past her head.

Rainbow Dash reared up, ceasing her descent. Several more hands shot up after her and she was forced to retreat further. Now several feet above the sand pit she looked back to see that the hands had stopped their assault. Rainbow Dash took this moment to calm herself; she needed to focused. She breathed in deeply, rolled her shoulders and attempted another dive.

Once again, a barrage of spidery hands spring up from the grabsand, but this time the blue pony was expecting them. She dipped and dodged, zigged and zagged, twoed and frowed, not letting a signal finger touch her. Reaching Scootaloo, one quick motion was all it took to grab the filly's midsection and yank her out of the sand.

With a triumphant grin, Rainbow Dash arced up and flew away with all her might…only for her to jerk to a dead stop. Something was pulling Scootaloo back and Rainbow Dash could only groan as she looked down to confirm that the little pony she was carrying was indeed covered in hand, each one connected to a long arm that twisted around each other like vines.

Rainbow Dash grit her teeth, tightened the hold of her forelegs around the filly's waist and pulled as hard as she could. Her wings beat furiously; sweat trickling down her forehead. She pulled and pulled and pulled but the hands would not loosen their grip, at lest as stubborn as Rainbow Dash if not more so.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash felt a tickling feeling in her nose. Oh no, not now! Any time but n… now…

Rainbow Dash sneezed. It was a loud sneeze, echoing through the forest. It also was a strong sneeze, propelling her backward into one of the trees. She struggled to free herself from the tangle of branches, but she halted the activity when she heard a sound: a loud "plop" like a small body hitting mud. Rainbow Dash looked down just in time to see a small orange head disappear into the grabsand with a yell.

"Scootaloo!"

In a sudden burst of strength, the blue pegasus freed herself in an explosion of sticks and leafs and dived head first into the pit.

When her head emerged from the muddy sand, she had Scootaloo by the scruff of her neck with her teeth. As soon as her head was above the sand, she was set upon by hands, grabbing and pawing at any thing that was exposed; ear, mane, snout… several hands even caught Scootaloo by three of her legs, causing the filly to shriek. Rainbow Dash kept her grip on her, however, and tried to swim to shore, only to find she had a hard time moving her legs. Undeterred, Rainbow Dash began to move the only part of her body out of the sand that the hands had not gotten a hold of: her wings. Flapping them hard and fast, she made sure that when the grabsand attempted to remedy it's oversight by flinging a par of hands at them, they were moving at such a speed that the sand-hands burst into tiny grains when they got near.

With a cocky smirk, the blue mare began to concentrate on lifting herself up. It was a difficult and slow process for the grabsand was strong, but soon she had slowly risen out of the pit, stopping about a few inches above.

Quickly, before the grabsand had the chance to act, she bucked and kicked with her legs, catching the grabsand by surprise and struggling free.

As each hand fell to the sand below, Rainbow Dash tossed Scootaloo on to her back where the little filly immediately swung her forelegs around the older mare's neck. Once that was done, Rainbow shoot up to where she remembered that the hands did not follow before. She looked down at the shifting, bubbling sand, her front hooves on her flank and gave a self-important laugh.

"Is that the best you could do?" she mocked, "I've seen more aggressive sand on paper. You couldn't catch a sloth in its tree much less me," she blew a raspberry at the bubbling pit and turned to leave, "ha, that's what you get for thinking you could tangle with Rainbow Dash, the fast flyer in Eqest-" she was cut off when she felt something wrap around her back legs and start violently pulling her down.

Rainbow Dash looked down to see what was wrong and there it was: a hand three times as big as the other ones with a strong hold on her legs. The arm connecting it to the pit below, rather than thin and rope-like like the others, was thick and muscular, and she could feel its grip tighten with every second.

Rainbow's thoughts were interrupted by a whimper and she turned her head to the filly on her back and looked into her eyes. These young eyes were wide in terror and awash with anticipation; afraid of what will happen next.

And what did Rainbow Dash do? She just smiled a warm, reassuring smile. Then she faced forward and flew skyward.

At first, she did not move an inch, the strong hand keeping her from moving any higher. But slowly, she began to ascend, bit by bit. It was agonizingly slow but she soon had past through the twisted branches of the trees around her and was endeavoring to clime into the stormy sky.

Then, from below her, where several loud cracklings crashes. Trees were being pushed aside from the spot of the forest from whence Rainbow Dash had emerged and from where the sand-arm was protruded from, its grasp on the mare's legs as tight as ever. Out of this parting ocean of trees rose a huge ball of sand about the size of a house. As it was lifted higher by the pegasus, it began to sway to and fro like a weighted pendulum casing the bearer to falter a bit in her flight, but she did not stop her assent.

The little pony and her load only got higher and higher over the Everfree Forest. The clump of sand gurgled and shifted, uncomfortable in the cold air. It was heavy, heaver then any weight Rainbow Dash had ever lifted, but it did not matter. Her legs felt like they were going to fall off, but it did not matter. Her wings where starting to tire, but none of this mattered. All that mattered was that this overzealous mud hole was not going to get Scootaloo.

They were one-hundred feet over Everfree now and the strain was beginning to take its toll. Something had to happen; something had to give; someone had to lose.

And Rainbow Dash dose not lose.

The hand began to lose its grip...

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At exactly 11:42 that night, ponies all over Equestria were being disturbed from their well earned rest by the distinctive sound of a giant ball of sand hitting a forest canopy. Shortly after that come a "clop clop" from their rooftops as wet sand rained over the land. It was a strange event that would be talked about for years to come as many would try to piece together what had cased such an explosion of sand, but few ever came close.

But if someone, out of pure curiosity, looked out their window that night toward the Everfree Forest, they would have seen the only clue to what happened; a rainbow streaking across the dark thundering sky.

Of course, those lucky enough to see this marvel were left in wonder. While rainbows come out during the rain, they only do so during the day, never in the middle of the night.

The answer, however, was simple: this was no ordinary rainbow.

This was a rainbow of victory.

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Rainbow Dash staggered into her main hall with the orange filly still on her back, both soaking wet. It was dark, making the cloudy, formless walls, ceiling and floor, usually bright and whimsical, look strange and foreboding. Of course, Rainbow Dash was not going to be frightened off by her own house, especially after the ordeal they just went through, so she bravely trekked into the darkness and turned into an opening in the wall. They were now in what was most times the living room, but was now a expansive, dark space with only one current light source, a large window which looked out on the flashing lighting and splattering rain.

The blue pegasus limped over to a large clump of cloud that acted as a couch and stood beside it. Scootaloo took no time in slowly climbing down from Rainbow Dash's back and curled up on the cloud, watching her idol with wide eyes.

The mare turned to face the filly and regarded her with an introspective look for what must have been the longest instant ever before she finally spoke:

"Scootaloo, we need to-"

"That was so cool!" Scootaloo cheered, bouncing up to her hooves, "The way that thing had me and you swooped in..."

"Scootaloo, I-" she tried again but was cut of.

"...And you grabbed me, but it grabbed you, so you were like 'rarrg!'"

"Scootaloo..."

"And then you pulled it up and up and it fell and..."

"Scootaloo!" the voice was stern and no nonsense, so unlike the Rainbow Dash she knew, that it forced the filly to timidly curl back into a ball.

Rainbow Dash silently regarded Scootaloo. She had no choice now. She had to be Scootaloo's role model, or else she was going to do something stupid again.

She kneeled down to the filly's level and asked in a serious but gentle voice, "Where are your parents?"

Scootaloo looked away and for a moment. She was silent, but finally made a very low, very hard to hear whisper.

"What was that?" the mare asked.

Scootaloo repeated her whisper this time even softer then the last one. Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes.

"Scootaloo, where are your-"

"They left me, okay!" the filly screamed, her big, teary-eyes focusing on the older pony, "There, I told you!"

Rainbow Dash blinked in surprise, but said nothing. She just waited for Scootaloo to continue. The filly wiped a tear from her eye and looked accusingly at her hero.

"Are you happy now? Are you happy that they hated me; that they abandoned me in a cornfield? I bet you're going to pity me and say, 'oh, poor thing, poor baby," the tears flowed more and more, and she chocked down a sob in a pitiful attempt to save face, "well, I was doing fine on my own. I don't need them. I was doing fine on my own! And why do you care? You never cared about this before. Just leave me alone. leave me..." her frantic words dissolved into sobs as she slowly laid her head down.

Rainbow Dash remained silent as she climbed up onto the cloud and laid a distances away from the filly. She fixed her gaze on the window, watching the droplets of water dance across the glass.

After a bit, she felt a small body snuggle up next to her. She did not look down, but gave a small relieved smile.

The two of them spent the rest of the night watching the rain.

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The sky was blue. Well, that went without saying, but today it was the bluest blue it has ever been or ever will be again. And the clouds were the purest white, and the sun shined gold upon all who would greet this day. It was indeed the most coolest day ever.

A perfect day for flying.

Across the pure white clouds soared a small orange shape. It flew at an unsteady pace and occasionally dipped, but always straightened in time. Behind it was a bright rainbow, moving just as fast as the orange shape. One look at it would give one the impression that it could fly mush faster, easily overtaking the orange shape, but it didn't. It stayed right behind it, as if it was were keeping an eye on it.

As the two shapes came to the edge of a cloud bank, the first one slowed to a stop, landing on the soft white surface and revealing itself as a small orange pegasus. The filly was panting heavily and her front legs buckled, bringing her head to the fluffy ground.

"You okay, Kid?"

Scootaloo brought her head up to see a blue pegasus floating above, her front legs crossed.

"Sure, I'm okay," the filly answered breathing heavily, "Just wanted to... take in the scenery, yeah!" The skeptical look on the older pony's face made her quickly add, "I can make it the rest of the way, don't worry."

Rainbow Dash gave her a knowing look before landing on the cloud beside her and gesturing to her back. "Hop on."

"But..."

"No 'buts', kid."

Scootaloo reluctantly climbed up onto the mare's back and held onto her neck. Before Rainbow Dash lifted off from the ground, she turned her head and gave Scootaloo a sly smile. And then they where off so fast they became nothing more than a rainbow colored streak as they twirled and looped into town.

It was a great day to learn how to be free.


End file.
